It has been going on for a long time, my quest for species number 120 in Iceland. Last week we chased a lesser yellowlegs (we missed it), and this morning new phone call for, this time, a pri of long-billed dowitcher (They had been observed only 7 times in Iceland). The weather has been horrible all day long and we decided with Stefan to try our chance after 6PM. But they were not there anymore, and that's when we got a phone call. They were only 15 minutes away from us, so we rush to this lake. Once we arrived there we had to play with the weather and wait for the sun to come up! It did, so here is the nice set of pictures I got from this lifer!! So that's species 120 in Iceland, 349 in total.And 2 minutes ago, I just received a SMS telling me that a northern Parula was find two blocks away from work, so you know where I will be tomorrow morning ;-)

These two species are from the States. We can only see them occasionally in Europe where they have been spotted few times; in Iceland, only 8 times. I rarely twitch, but these two species were too close to me. I've still tons of pictures and will probably used some of them when the winter will be dark and bad to publish some messages ;-) A group of birdwatchers went to the south peninsula of the country today as we are in the middle of a depression, and this usually brings a lot of birds from the States. I could have gone but I decided to stay over here and wait for the pioneer birds which will do it to Reykjavik ;-) They've seen a lot of rarities and let's hope some are around Reykjavik area too ;-)

#25Kelly2011-09-22 22:34Wow, Chris!! These photos are spectacular. I get to see Northern Parulas almost daily here, but never so close. They are always in the trees and very busy. I love how you captured one on a chain-link fence. I don't think I'd ever see one resting like that here. Your photos of the dowitcher are spectacular as well. You always have that lovely glowing light and low angle--just beautiful. I saw dowitchers this spring in Florida and loved them.Citer